1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk for storing digital data of multimedia data including audio information and moving image information that are associated with each other, as well as an apparatus and a method for reproducing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, CDs (compact disks) and LDs (laser disks) are known as optical disks for storing and reproducing audio information and/or moving image information.
A CD is an optical disk having a diameter of 12 cm. A CD carries audio information stored thereon which has been quantized by using a linear PCM method. CDs are widely prevalent as a storage medium for music-oriented applications.
An LD is an optical disk having a diameter of 30 cm. An LD carries moving image information stored thereon in the form of analog signals. LDs are widely prevalent as a storage medium for image-oriented applications such as movies.
In addition to such uses, applications which cannot be distinguished to be either simply music-oriented or image-oriented have emerged, e.g., operas and the recently-evolved music clips (i.e., music accompanied by images).
Herein, those uses which cannot be distinguished as either music-oriented or image-oriented will be referred to as being directed to xe2x80x9cimage-accompanied musicxe2x80x9d.
In the case of applications of image-accompanied music, it is difficult to know which mode of viewing/listening a user may desire because one user may wish to only listen to the music without viewing the images, while another may wish to enjoy both the music and the images. It is also possible for the same user to desire variable modes of viewing/listening depending on each situation. For example, a user may wish to only listen to music in the case where the user runs an image-accompanied music application on a portable reproduction apparatus while moving around or on a reproduction apparatus mounted in an automobile, but the same user may wish to enjoy both the music and the images when running the image-accompanied music application on a non-portable reproduction apparatus at home.
However, in the case of playback of only the audio information of an image-accompanied music application, merely omitting the image information reproduced from the image-accompanied music application from display may result in an awkward reproduction of those voices or sounds which would only be meaningful when reproduced along with images, e.g., the voices and sounds of an interview in an music clip.
Furthermore, merely omitting from display the image information reproduced from the image-accompanied music application may result in a malfunctioning of the reproduction apparatus due to the omission of the images. For example, in the case where an image menu is omitted from display, it is possible for the application to remain waiting for an input responsive to the undisplayed image menu.
Furthermore, there may be a desire to enjoy higher-quality voices and sounds during audio reproduction than during video reproduction.
According to the present invention, there is provided an optical disk including: a data region; and a management region, wherein the data region stores: at least one video object containing video information and audio information; and at least one audio object containing audio information, and wherein the management region stores first path information and second path information, the first path information indicating a first reproduction path including only the at least one video object, and the second path information indicating a second reproduction path including a combination of the at least one video object and the at least one audio object.
In one embodiment of the invention, the second path information includes offset information for designating a range to be reproduced of the audio information contained in the at least one video object.
In another embodiment of the invention, the quality of the audio information contained in the at least one audio object is higher than the quality of the audio information contained in the at least one video object.
According to the present invention, there is provided a reproduction apparatus for reproducing an optical disk in a reproduction mode, the optical disk including a data region and a management region, the data region storing: at least one video object containing video information and audio information; and at least one audio object containing audio information, wherein the management region stores first path information and second path information, the first path information indicating a first reproduction path including only the at least one video object, and the second path information indicating a second reproduction path including a combination of the at least one video object and the at least one audio object, the reproduction apparatus including: a reproduction mode determination section for determining whether the reproduction mode is a first reproduction mode for reproducing video information and audio information or a second reproduction mode for reproducing only audio information; and a reproduction section for reproducing the video information and the audio information contained in the at least one video object along the first reproduction path in the case where the reproduction mode is the first reproduction mode, and reproducing the audio information contained in the at least one video object and the audio information contained in the at least one audio object along the second reproduction path in the case where the reproduction mode is the second reproduction mode.
In one embodiment of the invention, the second path information includes offset information for designating a range to be reproduced of the audio information contained in the at least one video object, the reproduction apparatus reproducing a portion of the audio information contained in the at least one video object in accordance with the offset information.
In another embodiment of the invention, the quality of the audio information contained in the at least one audio object is higher than the quality of the audio information contained in the at least one video object.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the reproduction mode can be switched in accordance with an input by a user.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the reproduction apparatus includes a video output terminal for outputting the video information, the reproduction mode being switched in accordance with the state of connection of the video output terminal.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the reproduction apparatus is a reproduction apparatus to be mounted in an automobile, the reproduction mode being switched in accordance with a state of motion of the automobile.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reproducing an optical disk in a reproduction mode, the optical disk including a data region and a management region, the data region storing: at least one video object containing video information and audio information; and at least one audio object containing audio information, wherein the management region stores first path information and second path information, the first path information indicating a first reproduction path including only the at least one video object, and the second path information indicating a second reproduction path including a combination of the at least one video object and the at least one audio object, the reproduction method including the steps of: determining whether the reproduction mode is a first reproduction mode for reproducing video information and audio information or a second reproduction mode for reproducing only audio information; and reproducing the video information and the audio information contained in the at least one video object along the first reproduction path in the case where the reproduction mode is the first reproduction mode, and reproducing the audio information contained in the at least one video object and the audio information contained in the at least one audio object along the second reproduction path in the case where the reproduction mode is the second reproduction mode.
Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the advantages of (1) providing an optical disk capable of switching, in accordance with various modes of viewing/listening as desired by a user, between exclusive reproduction of audio information and reproduction of both video information and audio information without the creation of malfunctions, as well as an apparatus and a method for reproducing such an optical disk; and (2) providing an optical disk which allows the reproduction or playback of higher-quality audio information during audio reproduction than during video reproduction, as well as an apparatus and a method for reproducing such an optical disk.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures.